Knocked (Way) Up

This summer's funniest movie has suddenly made big daddies out of Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd

The 40 Yearold Virgin came out of nowhere in 2005. It launched the career of Steve Carell (an erstwhile Daily Show reporter now big enough to hang Evan Almighty on—the most expensive comedy ever made). More than that, it cemented a new slackercomedy repertory company featuring Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd (pictured here in their favorite hosiery) and presided over by directorproducer Judd Apatow. But the impact of this film on the landscape of America can be reduced, really, to a single line. Or rather, one line repeated again and again, by Rogen and Rudd.

Like you and your friends (only a little more absurd), these were two dudes who didn't actually speak to each other; they communicated by trading a FedererNadal'like volley of insults. "It's the way we express our love," Rudd says.

That line, in case you don't remember, was this You know how I know you're gay?

Classic responses? Take your pick.

Because you macraméd yourself a pair of jean shorts.

I saw you make a spinach dip in a loaf of sourdough bread once.

You like Coldplay.

This kind of talky humor doesn't sell tickets—it's not the kind of thing that plays well in a trailer. No, you've gotta wax Steve Carell's chest for that. But on repeat viewings, macraméd jean shorts—what's funnier than that?

Well, maybe Rudd talking lederhosen. "My mother used to dress me in lederhosen when I was a kid. She thought it was cute on a 4yearold. When I turned 5, she moved to a fullblown SS uniform."

Rogen and Rudd, together with the Apatow Repertory Players, are back this summer in Knocked Up, which you've probably already seen. Probably twice. Knocked Up, like The 40 YearOld Virgin, reveals Judd Apatow's genius. The guy's responsible for those rare comedies that make your girlfriend feel all romantic while still making you laugh. In Knocked Up, your lady sees a date movie about motherhood and commitment starring the chick from Grey's Anatomy. You see the fat kid finally getting a chance to score with the chick from Grey's Anatomy. You both leave happy.

The summer of '07 belongs to Apatow, Rogen, Rudd, and the rest of his comedy mafia—guys like Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Martin Starr. They've got another one out in August, Superbad (which Rogen cowrote, about, yup, an aimless guy scoring way above his station). Even hotshit indie auteur David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls) is a fan. He just shot Rogen's next script, The Pineapple Express—which is to say even highbrow guys like a good gay joke.

So if Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller have the Frat Pack, what are you guys calling yourselves?

"I'm pulling for the JewTang Clan," Rogen says. "Even James Franco is half Jewish. So is Danny McBride."

"The two of them can split one Tshirt," Rudd says.

There is a cautionary tale here, one which we feel compelled to mention. When you work with your friends again and again, well, that can lead you to a comedy echo chamber. You can imagine Christopher Guest and company on the set of that clunker For Your Consideration, patting each other on the back, saying, "We did it again!"

But Rogen assures us Apatow and friends have got it under control, and we're inclined to believe him. Familiarity helps the improv flow, he says. We wonder, does the free association ever get out of hand?

ROGEN "At the end of Knocked Up. In the hospital. When everyone's making fun of Martin's beard."

"Captain Lou Albano with AIDS…," Rudd says, laughing. Don't worry, it'll be on the DVD, Rogen says, along with another of Rudd's favorite lost lines "I heard the only way you can get in to see Steely Dan is if you bring your own wine and cheese."

When you see these two together—playing video games in The 40 YearOld Virgin or debating the merits of furniture while 'shrooming in Knocked Up—it occurs to us we would probably even watch these guys in Rush Hour 7.

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